“It’s so damn good to be able to use a familiar language.”

David had maintained a carefree expression ever since arriving at the deserted Vienna International Airport, and uttered those words upon entering the hotel. Having grown up in a city where German was commonly spoken, especially in Switzerland, he had always felt a sense of discomfort in Riyadh, and now realized it was due to the language barrier.

“Uh…… I don’t speak German, but somehow, I feel more familiar with German than Arabic. I can’t even understand their writing. It’s definitely better to use a language you’re used to, right?”

A colleague chimed in, prompting David to nod vigorously: “Exactly.”

“At least I can comfortably curse at those annoying bastards!”

A brief silence fell as David grumbled: “Cursing in English just doesn’t have the same punch.” Exasperated stares were directed at him, as if to say: ‘Is that all?’ Despite being in a familiar language zone, they were communicating in the common language used among colleagues, so David didn’t really have the chance to unleash a fluent stream of curses at his coworkers.

“What about you, Chris? Do you also enjoy cursing when you’re back home because it feels more liberating?”

The deputy team leader nudged Christoph, who was standing next to him, as if trying to gauge the feelings of the German speakers. Christoph, seemingly oblivious to their conversation, asked back with a puzzled look: “Cursing?”, then furrowed his brow.

“Um, I’ve never done that. I’ve never felt the need to.”

“……Right, that’s so you.”

Seeing Christoph’s innocent expression, plain on his high forehead, which seemed to say: ‘Why curse when you can just use force if you’re annoyed?’, the deputy team leader turned away, his expression suggesting he’d chosen the wrong person to ask.

“After we finish the mission, we’ll have a day off, right? I’m thinking of going home for a bit.”

“You can if you live close by. It would take me the whole day to travel back and forth, so I can’t.”

Most of their colleagues were from the Middle East. A large number were locals, so they often went home on weekends when they weren’t on duty. However, for those who came from other regions, even those from relatively nearby European countries, it wasn’t so easy to return home. Unless they had vacation time, they could only see their families briefly during business trips near their hometowns like this one.

Amidst the murmurs of colleagues like: “I’m going to call my girlfriend over”, or “I’m going to hole up in the hotel”, Salam suddenly asked Christoph,

“Your home is pretty close to here, right?”

“Not really.”

The reply came instantly. Salam knew that Christoph’s hometown wasn’t too far from their current location, but judging by that response, it seemed Christoph had no intention of visiting. Salam scratched his neck, pursed his lips, and tried again.

“Wouldn’t you want to see your family or your girlfriend back home, given this opportunity?”

“No way. Who would want to date someone who freaks out at the slightest touch? Besides, no girl would want to stand next to this face.”

The answer came from a different colleague. Everyone laughed at Salam as if agreeing with the statement. Christoph frowned slightly but didn’t react. He rarely got angry unless directly provoked, and knowing this, his colleagues occasionally made such remarks.

“Can’t you guys think a little more purely? You don’t necessarily have to sleep with someone to call them your lover! There’s also emotional connection, right? Besides, what if my lover is even more beautiful than me? Just means getting to admire and flexing to friends!”

The more Salam spoke, the more he realized his mistake, but he couldn’t retract what he’d said. He eventually shut his mouth after receiving looks of contempt and mockery, even from Christoph.

“That time you bragged about your girlfriend being enamored with your ‘manly stamina’ after sleeping with you, that was a lie, wasn’t it?”

The deputy team leader squinted, probing. Salam immediately yelled: “NO!”, but the looks in everyone’s eyes had already turned suspicious. Even Christoph scoffed with his usual impassive expression:

“A weakling like you wouldn’t have any manly stamina. You’re always the first to collapse from exhaustion during training.”

Salam glared. After all, Salam had tried to cover for Christoph’s haphephobia – albeit in a misguided way – yet he was now heartlessly joining the crowd in mocking him. A sense of injustice welled up.

“What about you, then? Have you ever slept with anyone?”

“Yes.”

“See, and yet you’re…… Wait.”

Salam, about to retort triumphantly, suddenly stopped, sensing something incredibly strange in the reply. A few seconds after he blinked repeatedly, his astonishment spread to those around him. The bustling and noisy hotel lobby around him suddenly fell silent.

“……I mean sex, not just sleeping in the same bed. Have you ever done that?”

“Yes.”

Christoph frowned as if annoyed at having to repeat himself. This time, Salam was truly speechless. So were the others.

Though he could be short-tempered, blunt, and inconsiderate, he wasn’t a liar. In that respect, he was reliable, but this particular moment was hard to believe.

“……You’ve had a lover?!”

The first to recover and ask the question amidst the stunned silence was the deputy team leader. Christoph, calm as ever, immediately replied.

“No.”

And this time, although the answer was as expected, everyone remained bewildered. The deputy team leader, despite hearing the answer he anticipated, still wore a perplexed expression.

“Uh…… um…… well then…… you could easily find one if you wanted……”

Deputy team leader Jack Cliff, 36, a handsome man but incredibly naive and slow when it came to romance, mumbled dejectedly. He also muttered something that sounded like: “I thought this guy would never have a lover before me (or rather, ever)”, but his voice was too low to be clear.

Yet Christoph affirmed to Jack: “No.”

“I’ve decided to stay single.”

Adding: “I’ve never really wanted a lover is completely true”, with complete sincerity. Jack looked at him skeptically.

“What? That’s a waste.”

“I’ve thought about it, but I don’t want one. I don’t really understand the point of it either.”

Faced with Christoph’s blank stare, Jack seemed at a loss for words when implicitly asked: “What’s the point of a lover?”

However, they didn’t have time to dwell on the matter. Just then, it seemed communication came through, as Jack raised a hand and listened to the communication device concealed in his ear. After a brief: “Roger!”, he turned back to them, his expression as impassive as if nothing had happened.

“Walden, Chris, David. It’s time. Let’s go. The rest will arrive at Mr. Croydon’s residence in an hour, wait there.”

And so their brief respite ended.

Two or three men followed Jack as he nodded and walked off, leaving their other colleagues behind.

The residence of Miller Croydon, who had long maintained a close relationship with Al-Faisal, occupied an entire large area within the quiet residential district. It was set apart from other houses, and there were almost no tall buildings within a 1km radius.

Checking the location before moving was also part of the security team’s job. Every time Al-Faisal moved, they would inspect the location beforehand.

In this case, since they had been here many times and were familiar with the surrounding terrain, the check was fairly quick. However, when going to dangerous or unfamiliar places, identifying danger points and deploying security personnel a day or two in advance was standard procedure.

“Okay. No problems.”

After Christoph spoke quietly into his radio, Jack’s voice came through after a short silence.

[“Good. We’ve finished checking this side too. I heard that a building in sector 37-7 has been upgraded and increased in height, what’s the situation there?”]

“The newly constructed building at 32-5 isn’t a problem as the thermal shields in between will obstruct the view, but as for 37-7 you mentioned, if someone could snipe a specific target from that distance, they could do it from outer space, and there’s nothing we could do to stop them.”

[“Ah…… Okay. If you’ve finished setting up the cameras, come back. I heard Mr. Al-Faisal just left the hotel and is on his way. We’ll regroup.”]

“Alright.” – Christoph replied curtly and switched off his radio. He double-checked the positions of the image transmission devices installed at the rooftop entrance and the stair landing, then turned to leave. There were others who would monitor the footage 24/24, so if there was no further communication, he didn’t need to do anything more.

Christoph checked his watch. It would take a little over ten minutes to walk to Miller Croydon’s residence. Al-Faisal would need about 20-30 minutes from the hotel. There was still some time.

Enough time to buy a coffee from a street vendor and leisurely stroll along the quiet park path. Christoph took a sip of his coffee, the cup nearly overflowing, which the vendor had poured while gazing at him dreamily, and continued his relaxed walk.

However, his leisurely time didn’t last long.

[“Chris. Where are you? Why aren’t you here yet?”]

Less than 10 minutes later, Jack’s voice crackled through the communication device. Even at his fastest working pace, the shortest route back would take about ten minutes, yet he was already being rushed. Christoph frowned slightly and activated his communicator.

“The park. I’m having a coffee while I walk.”

[“Hey. You’re conspicuous enough as it is, and you’re doing that too?”]

“……”

Christoph, who was simply having a coffee and walking, raised an eyebrow but said nothing. He knew that saying something like: ‘What am I supposed to do about how I look?’ wouldn’t help. Instead, he pulled his baseball cap down a little lower.

Being noticeable wasn’t a problem when working close to Al-Faisal. In fact, it was even advantageous for protection. However, when patrolling externally, observing potential threats from a distance, he needed to be discreet. That’s why Christoph was rarely assigned to external patrols. Out of ten missions, he only patrolled externally two or three times.

This time was no different. If it weren’t for today’s pre-forum gathering, where Miller – the main organizer of the forum – was privately inviting some important VIP guests and security was tight, Christoph would have been assigned to close protection duty alongside their principal.

Therefore, having free time during an external patrol like this was rare, yet someone was still giving him a hard time.

“Why are you rushing me? Is everyone already there?”

Christoph asked in an irritated tone. Jack gave a ridiculous reply: [“I’m bored.”] Christoph spoke sharply,

“Just go inside first. The guest list has already been sent to the residence’s security team, hasn’t it?”

[“I’m already inside. The VIPs have all arrived, security is extremely tight. I can’t relax at all.”]

Jack grumbled and explained that the person he was supposed to protect hadn’t arrived yet. It seemed he felt uncomfortable being alone amidst the VIPs and their entourage.

“Then call Walden or Debbie. Don’t call me.”

Christoph said and cut off the communication without waiting for a reply. He wasn’t planning on loitering anywhere anyway, but he didn’t want to hear that annoying voice the whole way. Part of him wanted to deliberately dawdle out of spite, but he actually knew why Jack had contacted him. Most of the senior colleagues knew, and he knew himself. The person they needed to be most wary of in this mission wasn’t Al-Faisal, but Christoph Tarten.

He knew that some of Rashid’s men were targeting him. They could snipe from afar, or they could get close with a knife.

But that was all.

He’d been through so much in his life that he wasn’t worried about them anymore. If the opponent was stronger than him, he would die. That was a given.

But, yes. He didn’t want to die. He didn’t want to lose either. So he would do whatever it took to survive.

Lost in thought, Christoph reached the end of the park path. The coffee cup in his hand was still nearly full, but the path before him had come to an end. On the other side of the quiet road, almost devoid of traffic, was the back gate of Miller’s residence.

The guards standing watch with stern expressions, no different from the main gate he had passed through earlier, approached him cautiously but politely as he walked towards them.

“May I ask where you’re from?”

“I came ahead to check the surrounding security. I arrived separately with my team. The guest list should have been sent already. I’m Christoph Tarten, security personnel.”

The list of today’s VIP guests and their accompanying personnel should have been sent to each entrance. The guard turned to the man inside the guardhouse. Upon hearing Christoph’s name, the man inside seemed to flip through the list, comparing the photo on the list with Christoph, then nodded in confirmation. The guard then said: “Please come in”, and led Christoph inside.

One of the men waiting just inside the gate took over from the security guard. Christoph heard the guard relaying his name and other information to the attendant.

“This way, Mr. Tarten. I’ll escort you.”

Led by the attendant, Christoph boarded a two-seater electric cart. The small vehicle started moving towards the mansion, visible in the distance but still a considerable walk away.

“I’ll take you to where your team members are waiting.”

The attendant was exceptionally polite, even to a regular security personnel. He wore a friendly smile as he drove the electric cart at a relatively brisk pace for such a short-distance vehicle. Al-Faisal’s group definitely hadn’t arrived yet; Jack was probably exaggerating to these people too. He must have put on a serious face and said something like: “His team will be arriving shortly; when he arrives, bring him here”, which anyone who didn’t know him would believe wholeheartedly.

Christoph paid no attention to the attendant, who seemed eager to make conversation, repeatedly glancing at Christoph with admiring comments like: “Is this Mr. Tarten’s first time in Vienna?”, and “It’s surprising that someone like Mr. Tarten is a security personnel.” Christoph simply observed his surroundings in silence as the cart moved towards the mansion. As expected, he noticed a discreet number of personnel stationed throughout, just enough to be inconspicuous. With this level of security, he didn’t need to be more vigilant than usual, at least not against external attacks.

Finally, upon arriving at the mansion and disembarking, Christoph followed the attendant who said: “This way, please.” Jack, being quite sociable, had apparently already secured a private room for himself upon being led into the hallway inside the mansion, an area with various rooms.

“……?”

Christoph raised an eyebrow slightly.

Miller Croydon was known as a generous tycoon who treated his guests exceptionally well, but he hadn’t expected him to provide private rooms for 2-3 security personnels.

However, before Christoph – feeling puzzled – could stop and speak, the attendant stopped in front of a simple wooden door. He once again put on a polite smile and grasped the doorknob. Then, he opened the door and said,

“This is the room for your team leader.”

‘Team leader? Since when was Jack one of those?’ – Christoph thought, but by then the door had already swung open. Inside the room, where the attendant was gesturing with a bright smile, four or five people were sitting or standing. And not a single one of them was a face Christoph recognized.

The conversations taking place inside abruptly ceased, and a brief silence fell. Only the attendant proudly announced: “Your team member is here.”

“……”

“…….Who are you?”

The first to speak was a woman seated at a small table, who had an open schedule book and had just pressed a button on the phone. A strikingly beautiful woman, she looked at Christoph suspiciously and tilted her head. The others, each busy with their own tasks, also stopped and looked at him curiously. It seemed this woman held the highest position among them.

The attendant, who had brought Christoph here, was even more flustered than Christoph, who was observing the room impassively. He blinked at the unexpected situation and stammered,

“Ah, yes, this is security personnel Tarten…… he’s the one who completed the advance security check……”

“Security check? We haven’t conducted any such check.”

The woman put down the receiver and tilted her head. Under the gazes fixed on Christoph with suspicion, the attendant’s wide eyes also turned towards him. Christoph looked down at the attendant with a cold stare and said curtly,

“Who are they?”

The hapless attendant, glancing back and forth between Christoph and the woman who were staring at each other in bewilderment, broke out in a cold sweat and asked Christoph,

“You said you were security personnel Tarten…… correct?”

“Yes.”

“We haven’t conducted any prior security checks. And I remember the faces of all our security personnel, but I’ve never seen you before.”

The woman said firmly, as if refuting something absurd. Then, as if feeling she shouldn’t prolong this suspicious situation, she murmured to a nearby man: “Contact Mr. Hans.” She then signaled with her eyes to the other men. All of them, sensing the delicate situation, stopped what they were doing and stood at a moderate distance from Christoph, shifting into a wary stance.